Subscribe by Email

I know what you’re probably saying. It’s two days before Thanksgiving and this post has nothing to do with the upcoming food inspired holiday. Well I say, “Au contraire my friend”. It has more to do with the holidays than you think. Allow me to indulge….

Less than a week until Halloween. My kids are practically busting at the seams with excitement. Nick, my oldest, plans to be Luke Skywalker, Drew is going to be a pumpkin, and my five year old? Well, he’s made the decision to be a marble. But not just any marble mind you – a rainbow marble. I’m sure you’re wondering how I’m going to achieve this feat. That’s good because I’m wondering a bit myself. I’ve come up with an idea to paper mache a rather large balloon, cut out a few holes for appendages and hope for the best.

It’s that time of year again. Time to grab your most inspired, most creative, most lip smacking recipes and join me in friendly competition for the 2nd annual Pacific Foods Everyday Chef Challenge!

Last year I entered my Chicken and Asparagus Saute with the determination to win (I didn’t quite pull it off but managed to finish with a respectable showing nonetheless) and this year I’ve had the distinct honor of being asked to participate as a celebrity judge. Little ol’ me, a judge, can you believe it?

Last week I challenged PAM to handle my drop dead delicious pumpkin molasses cupcakes and they passed the test with flying colors. This week we’re switching venues and trying our luck with my Pyrex bakeware. I’m bringing my lamb loaded, Greek loving, stick to the ribs and hopefully not the dish, Moussaka to the competition.

Lamb is one of those meats that brings back family memories every time I eat it. When I was a child, my grandmother would roast a leg of lamb for every special occasion (with the exception of Thanksgiving of course). She had it down to a tee and I can still remember the amazing smell that would drift through the kitchen as dinner time approached. It was always served up with a little mint jelly and a hearty helping of rosemary red potatoes on the side. Little did she know, she was instilling a culinary memory that won’t soon be forgotten.

In this traditional recipe, ground lamb, eggplant, and bechamel combine together to create a flavor that is so inspired I promise you’ll be heading back for seconds. Start out by peeling and slicing your eggplant. To slice it you’ll cut the vegetable in half and then cut 1/2″ slices from each piece. Salt them generously and lay them on a lightly greased baking sheet to rest for about 25 minutes.

Once they’ve sufficiently rested, you’ll heat up your oven to 425 degrees and slide them in for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned, flipping over once halfway through.

While they’re resting and cooking, let’s take a few minutes to prepare the meat sauce. Start out by browning up that gorgeous ground lamb. When the lamb is cooked about halfway through, you’ll add in an onion, some garlic, and a few spices.

Drop the heat down a hair and add in a little lemon juice, some tomatoes, a splash of beef broth and some salt and pepper.

Stir it all together and let it warm through. Turn it down to a simmer and cover it up while we get to work on the bechamel.

Grab one more pan and add a slab of butter and an equal amount of flour.

Mix it together and let it cook on medium heat for a good ten minutes until the butter turns that beautiful nutty brown color and the smell has you practically grabbing for a spoon right then and there. Note that it’s not necessary to brown the roux if you’re in a hurry, but if you can make the time sacrifice, I promise it will be worth it on the back end. Check out that beautiful golden brown roux.

Turn the heat down a notch, pour in a hearty cupful of milk, and stir it up until it’s nice and smooth. Finally, add in a smattering of Parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg and salt. De-lish.

And in case you’re scratching your head over my ground lamb vs. leg of lamb confusion in the video, my grandmother cooked leg of lamb when we were younger, not ground lamb. Blame it on the large number of kids in my possesion paired with a way too small cup of coffee this morning.

Layer up the dish with meat followed by eggplant and repeat until none remains.

End the whole layering game with a hearty pour of the cheese sauce over the top. I can see the finish line on this meal and it’s looking mighty scrumptious if I do say so myself.

Time to cook it up. Scooch the finished dish into the oven and let it cook up for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the top is bubbly and golden brown. For a quick meal, you can also assemble earlier in the day and then place it in the fridge, covered, until you are ready to cook it up and a later time. I made this one while Drew was napping and then threw it in the oven later that evening after we got home from running around.

Doesn’t that look amazing? And while a video of the finished product does exist, there were babies crying in the background, moussaka sliding off of spatulas to unknown places and hungry kids asking when I was going to be done so I decided to scrap it. Instead I offer you up this lovely picture of a dish that basically needed to be rinsed off and put away it was so clean.

Not even the edges of the cheese topping stuck to the dish.

I officially have a new family member and her name is Pam. She and I are now officially signing off to enjoy a slice of moussaka and minimal kitchen clean up.

I’ve noticed a lot of palate pleasing macaroni and cheese recipes floating around the blogosphere in recent weeks and it makes me happy. Really happy. And hungry. Of all the mood warming meals that are to be had in my food infused world, noodles and cheese come pretty darn close to the top of the list. Here’s my take on a jazzed up version of mac and cheese. I added a little chicken and green chiles to the mix, just because. My husband is always grateful for the meat addition so he considered this dish a keeper. Be sure to add the fresh tomato garnish at the end. The bright, fresh bite of the fruit pairs superbly with the hearty flavor and texture of the mac and cheese.

Having resided in Texas for a solid six years of my adult life, it should come as no surprise when I reiterate the absolute weakness I have for authentic Mexican flavors. Cilantro, beans, cumin, you name it. It doesn’t matter how you combine them, if they’re in the same dish all dancing together in perfect harmony, life is most certainly good. Or perhaps I should say bueno.

This dish was first born of a trip I made to the local farmers market to pick up a rack of pork ribs for the upcoming evening. I snagged the ribs but couldn’t walk away without snatching up a packet of chorizo to go with it. Never mind that I had absolutely no clue what to do with said chorizo nor did I come to the market with the intention of buying it. It looked good, hunger called, so I bought it. I also left with a bonus loaf of fresh bread and a couple heirloom tomato plants. The farmers market just loves people like me.

Fast forward a couple weeks. It’s 4:45pm and dinner is no longer calling to me, it’s yelling directly in my ear to get it on the table – soon. I see the chorizo in the back of the freezer and the light bulb goes on. I’ll make a chicken Parmesan inspired Mexican dish because, really… why not? A little bit of this, a handful of that, bada bing, bada boom – dinner is served.